Legislative Branch
The Legislative Branch, called Legislative Council, is CUSG's policy-making body. Legislative Council has final approval over the CUSG budget and the programmatic operation of all Cost Centers and CUSG services. [7] There are two equal houses to Legislative Council, Representative Council and the Council of Colleges and Schools (CCS). Representative Council is composed of nine popularly elected Representatives who serve one-year terms; five Representatives are elected in the fall and four in the spring. The Council of Colleges and Schools has nine seats, one for each college and school on campus. CCS Senators are elected by their constituent colleges and schools, while some are appointed. Each school has only one vote. Legislative Council elects a Legislative Council President and Vice President to preside over the body. [8]
Joint and Advisory Boards
Working with Legislative Council is a group of eight Joint Boards and Advisory Boards that provide oversight for several of CUSG's Cost Centers and operations. Joint Boards act as boards of directors, governing and supervising each Cost Center's management structure. The Joint Boards include the Recreation Board, the Health Board, the University Memorial Center (UMC) Board, the Air Board, the WRC Board, the Environmental Center Board, the Cultural Events Board (CEB) and the Finance Board. Finance Board is unique in that it does not oversee a single cost center, but manages student fees and creates the annual budget. Each Joint Board is led by a chair, elected internally by the board and subject to ratification by two-thirds of Legislative Council.
Overseeing the everyday operations of the CUSG Cost Centers is a major responsibility for the student government. Cost Centers include the Student Recreation Center, Wardenburg Health Center, University Memorial Center (UMC), Environmental Center, Student Organizations Finance Office (SOFO), Women's Resource Center (WRC), Off-Campus Student Services (OCSS), Student Legal Services, Cultural Events Board (CEB), Volunteer Resource Center, KVCU Radio 1190 and the Student Outreach & Retention Center for Equity (SORCE). In conjunction with the Executives, each Cost Center submits a yearly student fee budget to Finance Board for final consideration and inclusion in the next fiscal year's student fee.
The Finance Board
The purpose of the Finance Board is to make recommendations to appropriate University authorities about the level and distribution of student fees and about the designation of activities to receive student fee support, hereinafter referred to generally as cost centers. [10] In making its recommendation, the Finance Board’s ultimate standard is the welfare of the University and in particular the welfare of the student body. Since its special area of responsibility is fiscal, the board has the obligation to develop and maintain policies and procedures which assure a responsible level of management and review of student fee funds, not only of funds under its direct control (student fees), but also of funds allocated to any area incorporated under the Autonomy Agreement. Student fees are monies collected according to a rate schedule set by the Regents from student designated kinds of student-oriented activities, which, by state or University policy, can be financed only partially, if at all, from state appropriations, tuition, or other funds available to the University. [11]
The Finance Board is charged with preparing the Annual Student Fee Budget, with Recurring Allocations Subject to the approval of the CUSG Legislative Council and the Regents; The Finance Board also determines the annual budget for student fee supported operations, including the level of the student fees and the rate schedule, the identification of activities which merit continuing fee support, and the establishment of the level of such support for recurring allocations. [12]
Elections and Controversial Issues
The number of candidates that ran in the Spring 2010 University of Colorado Student Government (CUSG) election more than doubled from Spring 2009 because of controversial issues being tackled by the current administration, according to student government members, who said more competition could mean more voters. [13]
The Spring elections in 2011 were narrowly won by candidates running on the INVEST ticket, a conservative leaning ticket with several incumbents, which beat out EDGE and PROPEL the two progressive tickets, who won a combined 55 percent of the vote. [14]
In Spring of 2012, the progressive PULSE ticket brought progressive candidates back into power after two conservative administrations, defeating the ENTRUST ticket by 15 percent. [15]
In the Spring 2013 elections, the Tri-Executive candidates from the UNITE ticket narrowly won by 22 votes. [16]
The Spring 2016 elections were controversial for CU Student Government. Originally, the entire Revolution ticket was disqualified due to allegations ranging from bribery for fraternity and sorority votes by pizza to illegal tabling. When appealed, only two members of the Revolution Ticket, Colton Lyons and Marcus Fotenos, were disqualified by the CU Student Government Appellate court. However, due to flaws in the election infraction process, the Chancellor of CU-Boulder Phil DiStefano overturned the ruling and reinstated Fotenos and Lyons. [17] [18]
The government of California is the governmental structure of the U.S. state of California as established by the California Constitution. California uses the separation of powers system to structure its government. It is composed of three branches: the executive, consisting of the governor of California and the other constitutionally elected and appointed officers and offices; the legislative, consisting of the California State Legislature, which includes the Assembly and the Senate; and the judicial, consisting of the Supreme Court of California and lower courts. There is also local government, consisting of counties, cities, special districts, and school districts, as well as government entities and offices that operate independently on a constitutional, statutory, or common law basis. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, recall and ratification.
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado system. CU Boulder is a member of the Association of American Universities, a selective group of major research universities in North America, and is classified among R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity. In 2021, the university attracted support of over $634 million for research and spent $536 million on research and development according to the National Science Foundation, ranking it 50th in the nation.
The McMaster Students Union (MSU), is the central undergraduate student government at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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The municipal government of Toronto is the local government responsible for administering the city of Toronto in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its structure and powers are set out in the City of Toronto Act.
The government of the U.S. State of Oklahoma, established by the Oklahoma Constitution, is a republican democracy modeled after the federal government of the United States. The state government has three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial. Through a system of separation of powers or "checks and balances," each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, some authority to regulate the other two branches, and has some of its own authority, in turn, regulated by the other branches.
The Government of Colorado is the governmental structure as established by the Constitution of the State of Colorado. It is composed of three branches: the executive branch headed by the Governor, the legislative branch consisting of the General Assembly, and the judicial branch consisting of the Supreme Court and lower courts. The constitution also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, recall and ratification.
The government of the State of New Jersey is separated into three distinct branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The powers of the State of New Jersey are vested by the Constitution of New Jersey, enacted in 1947, in a bicameral state legislature, the Governor, and the state courts, headed the New Jersey Supreme Court. The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by acts of the state legislature, including the creation of executive departments and courts inferior to the Supreme Court.
The UMSL Student Government Association (SGA) is a student run government set up to provide a voice for students when dealing with administration of the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL). SGA has three branches, executive, legislative and judicial, and also a constitution. SGA was started in 1963 when the University was founded and has been through many constitutional changes, the most recent in 2004. SGA includes members from every student organization and students from every college on campus. This government incorporates both undergraduate and graduate in its student body. UMSL's SGA, along with the 3 other campuses in the University of Missouri System student governments sends two members to a meeting of what is called the Intercampus Student Council. SGA has been involved in many changes for students around the campus, including getting funds for the Benton Hall renovation. It is responsible for approving student fees before they go to the board of curators of the University of Missouri System and divides out the campus Activity's Fees to fund student organization's budgets.
The District of Columbia has a mayor–council government that operates under Article One of the United States Constitution and the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. The Home Rule Act devolves certain powers of the United States Congress to the local government, which consists of a mayor and a 13-member council. However, Congress retains the right to review and overturn laws created by the council and intervene in local affairs.
The government of Indiana is established and regulated by the Constitution of Indiana. The state-level government consists of three branches: the judicial branch, the legislative branch, and the executive branch. The three branches share power and jointly govern the state of Indiana. County and local governments are also constitutional bodies with limited authority to levy taxes, pass legislation, and create and maintain local public infrastructure.
The government of the U.S. state of Kansas, established by the Kansas Constitution, is a republican democracy modeled after the Federal Government of the United States. The state government has three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. Through a system of separation of powers, or "checks and balances," each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, and also some authority to regulate the other two branches, so that all three branches can limit and balance the others' authority.
Michigan has a republican form of government with three branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the governor of Michigan and the other independently elected constitutional officers; the legislative branch consisting of the House of Representatives and Senate; and the judicial branch consisting of the one court of justice. The state also allows direct participation of the electorate by initiative, referendum, recall, and ratification.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is governed by a set of political tenets laid down in its state constitution. Legislative power is held by the bicameral General Court, which is composed of the Senate and House of Representatives. The governor exercises executive power with other independently elected officers: the Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, and Auditor. The state's judicial power rests in the Supreme Judicial Court, which manages its court system. Cities and towns act through local governmental bodies to the extent that they are authorized by the Commonwealth on local issues, including limited home-rule authority. Although most county governments were abolished during the 1990s and 2000s, a handful remain.
The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) at Stony Brook University is a governing body representing the undergraduate students of Stony Brook University. As with most student governments in the United States, one of USG's main functions is to recognize, fund and regulate student organizations. The USG is composed of an executive and a legislative branch; a judicial branch existed until a constitutional amendment removed it in 2019. Along with the Graduate Student Organization, USG is the only other organization authorized to distribute the Student Activity Fee (SAF) in a viewpoint-neutral manner. In accordance with State University of New York Policies and Procedures, the mandatory SAF provides the USG with an annual budget of approximately $3.1 million, independently of the state budget.
The George Washington University Student Association is the student government of the George Washington University in Washington, DC. The SA is responsible for advocacy on behalf of the GW student body at and is modeled after the U.S. Federal Government and consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial.
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The University of Central Florida Student Government is the student body government for the University of Central Florida, a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States. It is the largest Student Government within the state of Florida and one of the largest in the United States. It also often places in the top ten Student Governments nationally for the services and outreach it provides for the students it serves. SG also serves as the liaison between the student body and University Administration. Three branches, an executive, a legislative, and a judicial are governed by the student-adopted Constitution.
